He Tohu

He Whakapapa Kōrero, He Whenua Kura Talking about our past to create a better future

Many years of hard work culminated on 19 May 2017 when the governor general of New Zealand, Her Excellency the Rt. Hon. Dame Patsy Reddy, officially opened He Tohu, the new permanent exhibition at the National Library of New Zealand (National Library) in Wellington. At the centre of He Tohu are three taonga (treasures) that shape Aotearoa/New Zealand:

• • He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni – the Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand (1835);

• • Te Tiriti o Waitangi – the Treaty of Waitangi (1840); and

• • Te Petihana Whakamana Pōti Wahine – the Women’s Suffrage Petition (1893).

He Tohu, which is housed in a state-of-the-art conservation space that will see our fragile and irreplaceable documentary heritage preserved for future generations, is supported by an interpretive exhibition that provides on-site and online learning experiences and resources, particularly for New Zealanders between 10 and 15 years old. With a focus on the history of the documents and their ongoing significance to our national life, He Tohu improves public access to these important taonga thanks to a larger display space and extended opening hours. The exhibition will be in place for at least the next 25 years.¹

For Archives New Zealand (Archives) and its staff, the new exhibition has been a focus for a number of years, with archivists Stefanie Lash and Jared Davidson working as the lead curator and curator, respectively, since 2014. Conservators Anna Whitehead, David Adams, and others played a key role in preparing the documents for the next chapter of their journey and will continue in this role going forward. While the taonga are now housed in the National Library building, they remain under the care of the chief archivist.

Two key events for Archives staff took place this year in the build-up to the opening on 19 May: the closure of the Constitution Room on 11 April and the move of the taonga on 21 April.

Closure of the Constitution Room

Prior to He Tohu, the three taonga, along with other constitutional documents, were housed in the Constitution Room, which was opened at Archives House in Wellington in 1990. Designed over 25 years ago, the Constitution Room was no longer fit for this purpose. It was necessary to close the room some weeks ahead of the move to allow the conservators time to prepare the documents for transfer to their new home. It was closed to the public on 7 April and, shortly after, a staff event was held for formal closure.

Organizing this event involved input from several Archives staff and required careful consideration of the appropriate tikanga (customary values and practices) for the occasion and location. Located on the shores of Whanganuia-Tara (Wellington Harbour), Archives’ Wellington office functions under the maru (shelter/authority/safeguard) of Te Atiawa and Taranaki Whānui (Māori iwi/tribes with traditional bases in the Taranaki and Wellington regions of New Zealand). The tikanga of Te Atiawa and Taranaki Whānui therefore guide the organization.

The morning of 11 April began with a karakia (prayer), led by kaumātua (elder) Kura Moeahu. Staff filled the Constitution Room, tracing their hands over the document cases before singing Archives’ waiata (song), “Te Manaaki Taonga.” After kai (food) came the commencement of a kawe mate, a type of memorial service that sees the memory of the deceased taken home. This was considered the most appropriate process for bidding farewell to the taonga, as well as to the tīpuna (ancestors) whose signatures and marks line the pages, as it is customarily used in places where the deceased was well known and loved but was not buried.

Throughout the kawe mate, a range of emotions were expressed – from laughter, as we were reminded of the years before the taonga came to Archives, to tears as we remembered the loss felt at learning that the taonga were to be relocated and, for some, the difficult few years that followed. We also acknowledged the connections to the taonga for those who were...